Hotels We Covet: Baccarat in New York City, USA

Hotels We Covet: Baccarat in New York City, USA⇒ It only takes a few seconds when stepping inside this incredible hotelfor one to immediately feel the luxury state of living, the perfect combination of the noble heritage and the perfect craft of the legendary French crystal company with a modern flair and elements. Today CovetED will show you why it’s one of the best hotels in the world.

At the ground-floor entrance, we were welcomed warmly by a four-foot-tall dual-sided fireplace paying homage to Baccarat’s furnaces, which are stoked 24 hours a day to produce the world’s most coveted crystal. Behind the entrance, a wall is formed with nearly 2,000 Harcourt glasses, the brand’s most iconic crystal piece. Laid horizontally and illuminated with LED lights, the installation subtly flickers and flashes throughout the day.

After being hosted by the nicest Concierge, we were invited to meet one of the 114 sanctuary-like guest rooms and suites.

PetitSalon

When arriving at our room, it was crystal clear that we had arrived at Baccarat’s crown jewel. This room was designed like a pied-à-Terre and we felt at home with the delicious delights from French gourmet house Ladurée and a custom desk, sconces and table lamps by Baccarat. This suite conjures the alchemy of modern day in Paris through a Baccarat lens. Luxurious artistry gives way to beauty beyond measure. All the amenities were charming and, we must say, we slept like babies that magic night. This was the Baccarat experience as a luxe personal escape.

The Afternoon tea experience reaches new heights with a Tea Sommelier offering a special pairing of tea by Mariage Freres and culinary delights invented to complement the experience. Introduced first with King Louis XV Tea and Prince of Wales Tea, the journey through the senses is now exploring Russia with the Tsar Nicholas tea, dubbed Best Tea by Bloomberg.

Entrance

Best described as A Caviar Tea for Two at Tsarskoye Selo, this over-the-top experience starts with an amuse-bouche of sable, kohlrabi, and baby beets. It wouldn’t be Russian-inspired without Tsar Imperial Ossetra caviar, from the famous French Maison Petrossian on tea-infused Blinis. After an Intermezzo of Stoli Kvass Sorbet infused with Rooibos Tea with Macerated Raisins, the dessert can only be Lavender Shortbreads and Earl Grey Caramels served with Lung Ching Imperial Green Tea and Krug Grand Cuvée.

Baccarat Suite Bathroom

It’s dinner time and we couldn’t leave without tasting the elegant French-inspired culinary of Chef Gabriel Kreuther in the stunning crystal clad surroundings of The Grand Salon.

“The Baccarat Hotel takes an elegant and sophisticated approach to hospitality that has similarly defined my career and my restaurant—prioritizing high-quality ingredients, fine craftsmanship and beautiful presentation,” he says. “I’m proud to partner with a brand so closely aligned with my Alsatian roots and I am delighted by the opportunity to reinvigorate the culinary program with classic French technique and fine dining ideals that will elevate the Baccarat guest experience.” It did, in fact, elevate our experience.

Grand Salon

Visually stunning with a dose of French “je ne sais quoi,” the Grand Salon is inherently majestic – a quality well-suited for any celebration, for a cocktail or a cosy and memorable dinner.

The waiter that was attending us that evening was the most diligent and nice person. As he served us the most delicious dishes accompanied by the best wines, he told us so much about the Grand Salon and the Petit Salone: The Grand Salon’s 35-foot ceiling and plush, platinum-and-champagne-hued palette creates an incredibly glamorous backdrop for all-day lounging, while the Petit Salon’s smoked oak walls and emerald green velvet settees beckon guests desiring a more private and tranquil environment.

Guest Bathroom

At The Bar, you can get a cocktail that costs $450. Most of the other cocktails cost around $26 – but this should still give you a good idea of what kind of place this is.

Panelled in silver-leafed boiserie and sitting in an open alcove off the Grand Salon, the book-lined library offers a semi-secluded space for intimate celebrations and social gatherings of all kinds, from Champagne, toasts to late-night rendezvous, birthday brunches to mid-afternoon meetings complete with Mariage Frères.

If you have a few days off in the City that never sleeps, ride around New York City in style. Luxury house car service is available to guests for à propos jaunts through Manhattan—anywhere within 15 blocks of the hotel.

The Bar

The subterranean Spa de la Mer is hidden away below the hotel’s entrance and designed to recall luxurious moments by the sea. The design of Spa de la Mer brings the La Mer brand to life with luxurious textures and a soothing colour palette. Rich bespoke materials in warm champagne and bronze tones are inspired by the signature ingredient found in all La Mer products, The Miracle Broth™. The reception area is accented with a calming golden ocean visual, while Italian marble floors and whitewashed planks line the hallways. Each treatment room is adorned with a beautiful mural of sea kelp hand painted by New York artists, Lynda White and Jeff Wood. Custom Baccarat crystal sconces line the space, casting a warm glow. Adjacent to the spa’s four intimate treatment rooms, Gilles & Boissier installed luxurious canopied day beds and coated the bottom of the 50-foot swimming pool with black and white tiles, reminiscent of a sunken ballroom.

Petit Salon

What’s the best place to inspire the heated Baccarat Pool? Côte d’Azur. The pool’s checkered floor and warm, pure water make for a dreamlike quality, as do the comfort of its crisp white daybeds.

Brilliantly imagined by hospitality industry titan Barry Sternlicht, the brand’s global flagship has been conceived in the style of a sumptuous hôtel particular by Paris-based interior design firm, Gilles & Boissier. Dorothée Boissier and Patrick Gilles devoted three years to developing the innovative image for the first-ever Baccarat Hotel. A new concept in the elite hospitality sector, the interiors pay tribute to the refined aesthetic of 18th century France while incorporating the feeling of a private and welcoming 21st century home.

The Bar

Throughout the hotel, guests experience a fusion of sensibilities; uniquely French spatial proportions and decor are melded with the dynamism of contemporary New York, a city celebrated for its boldness and vitality. Custom designing most of the furniture and accessories in the hotel themselves, Gilles & Boissier have thoughtfully woven bespoke pieces of fine Baccarat crystal throughout the property. By alluding to the mysterious alchemy of crystal and its scintillating qualities through product, fabrics, lighting and art, the designers are able to tell a remarkable story about the legendary brand’s 250-year evolution.

Built by internationally-acclaimed architecture firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, the Midtown Manhattan tower features a prismatic glass façade, which fittingly recalls the radiance of Baccarat crystal and subtly reflects and refracts light across its 50 stories. In addition to the hotel’s 114 luxurious guest rooms, the sleek skyscraper features a separate residential lobby and 60 elegant residences designed by interiors master Tony Ingrao.

Reception

For the art lover, a private collection has been specially curated for the hotel by the French husband and wife team Stéphanie and Frédéric Chambre. This collection subtly echoes Baccarat’s own history. In addition to the bar’s museum-quality collection from the likes of Robert Longo, Ellen von Unsworth, Joaquin Ferrer, Slim Aarons, Jean-Philippe Aubanel, Segui, Nan Goldin and Eduardo Arroyo, more than 100 custom-designed works of art are displayed throughout the hallways and public areas of the Baccarat Hotel. In fact, Chambre commissioned 11 artists to create statuettes using Baccarat’s iconic Harcourt glass, each of which will be showcased in a vitrine at the landing of each guest room. Other artists who contributed to the hotel’s extraordinary interiors include Gilles Barbier, Bardula Studio, François Houtin, Armand Jonckers, Eva Jospin, Mathieu Mercier and Meret Oppenheim.